Property Dispute
by e-ellens
Summary: COMPLETE for now. In response to a challenge: How and why did Kate get her front fringe? WITHOUT GOING TO HAIRDRESSERS! Come along for the journey on Kate's 'Morning after the Night Before'.


AN: This was written as a challenge on Sea-Patrol . com ; Basically, we had to say why and how Kate got her fringe for S3, WITHOUT going to the hairdressers. This Chapter has basically completed the challenge, but I will be writing more once I've finished Uni for the year; 12 days and counting!!

It has mentions of Buffer/Kate, because that's just how I am. But I don't believe it will turn into anything romantic. You will understand what I mean once you've read it ;)

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**Property Dispute**

Kate groaned as she rolled over in bed. Slowly regaining consciousness, she blinked her eyes rapidly to clear her vision of the blinding light streaming through the curtains. The Hammersley had been given an astonishing two weeks shore leave after the coup of the Samaru Islands. In celebration, many of the crew had gone out for quiet drinks, which quickly escalated into widespread drunkenness and a warped game of truth or dare. In actual fact, it was more a game of 'Double Dare' rather than 'truth or dare', as most of the tasks were outrageous dares which the questioner had to complete if the player believed they wouldn't go through with it if asked. As such, when the group decided to call it a night, many were covered in pen or attached to another individual; some were even wearing an ungodly amount of makeup.

Kate rolled out of bed, unsteady on alcohol-influenced legs, and made her way towards the bathroom to shower. As she passed the mirror, however, Kate stopped in her tracks, shocked at her own reflection. Not only was she sporting the normal hangover face, but two small lines on black pen crossed over her forehead. "What the hell..?" she muttered to herself, leaning closer and squinting to read the text.

_'Property Of Tomaszweski  
Back Off'_

"Oh, hell no!" she exclaimed, her mind flying back over the happenings of the night before, trying to figure out exactly when she was named Buffer's property.

~*~*~*~*~

"Lick, Sip, Suck, GO!" called ET, as the group continued their tequila shots. Kate, Bomber and Nikki were sitting together on one side of the table, whilst ET, Buffer, Spider, Charge were across from them. Unsurprisingly, RO decided to sit the celebrations out; he much preferred to keep his work and private lives very much separated. Swain chose to spend all the time he could with Sally and his little princess, whereas Hammersley's Commanding Officer had numerous reports that needed to be completed.

Kate downed her third shot, mentally kicking herself for allowing Nikki to drag her out with the crew. One for wine rather than spirits, Kate was just hoping she wouldn't make a fool of herself. Much to her surprise, Kate discovered just how much fun she could have after a few tequilas to dismiss her inhibitions. The rest of the group were also loosening up towards her, and for the first time Kate actually felt like she really belonged as a friend rather than a superior. Smiling at the thought, the shot glass was once again raised as ET called for downing a drink.

~*~*~*~*~

After much scrubbing, a red forehead and an angry expression later, Kate still had enough of the ink still engrained in her skin to allow easy reading. She was quickly running out of options, as she was due in at NAVCOM that afternoon for a briefing. Knowing she had no other way to clean the ink off, her mind immediately snapped to getting her hair cut to cover it. Kate quickly called all the nearby hairdressers to beg for an appointment, but Fate seemed to be against her as the earliest availability wasn't until the next Wednesday. Thanking the person on the other end, Kate shut her phone and grumbled under her breath.

"Why, of all the possible days, did I have to get drunk?" she moaned to herself, as she moved to put her phone down on the bench. In doing so, Kate's eyes caught and held on a pair of scissors. A handful of ideas flew through her head, including calling a friend to do the honours. But that thought was chopped off at the head; if Kate barely remembered the night, there was no way she would accidentally remind Nikki or Bomber.

Resigned, Kate picked up the scissors herself and started to brush her hair forward the numerous times she'd watched hairdressers do when giving someone else a fringe. Making it as thick as possible, she started cutting away. By the time she had finished, Kate had a fairly substantial, albeit uneven, fringe gracing her forehead. Standing back from the mirror, Kate swished her new fringe back and forth.

"Not bad, Katie, not bad at all," she said to herself with a smile. Enough hair was covering her permanent-marker brand so only spots of black were visible. Glancing at the clock, her face blanched as she realised how late it was. Quickly grabbing her purse and keys, Kate ran out the door, heading towards NAVCOM and the inevitable meeting. Only time would tell if her new hairdo would hold up to the scrutiny of the Hammersley Crew; round one: Mike.

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AN2: Well, please review if you liked it, or review if you didn't :P I kinda know where and how Kate got branded, but I'm open for suggestions as to what some of the other crew might have had to undertake. Also, are there any confrontations you want to see? There will be Mike's reaction (or possibly lack-there-of), as well as Buffer (for obvious reasons) and maybe Nav?


End file.
